Botswana

Botswana is one of Africa’s last pristine lands and offers its visitors beautiful scenery and prolific big game in equal measure - from the watery paradise of the Okavango Delta, to the shimmering white saltpans of the Makgadikgadi; the majestic baobab trees of the Kalahari or the elephants drinking at dusk from the Chobe river.

Malawi

Mauritius

The tropical gardens and infinity pools of chic luxury resorts in Mauritius give way to dazzling sands lapped by azure waters. Holidays to Mauritius offers five star hospitality, a melting pot of cultures and idyllic tropical scenery.

Lake Natron

Lake Natron is one of the soda lakes of the Great Rift Valley, tinged pink by thousands of flamingos. But this is only one of its attractions…

Lake Natron & Ol Doinyo Lengai

Lake Natron is one of the great soda lakes of the Great Rift Valley. Here you can see thousands of pink-tinged lesser flamingos, a wondrous sight for all, but especially keen photographers.

But this extremely alkaline lake is but one of the attractions of this remote area of northern Tanzania.

The route in to Lake Natron from the south (from near Lake Manyara) is bumpy and dusty. So it’s not for those with a bad back! But it is also incredibly beautiful with the wall of the rift valley escarpment in full, impressive view. As you travel you see real Maasai village life that you’ll not see on the normal ‘safari circuit’. This starkly beautiful wide valley is home to remote Maasai tribes trying to eke out a precarious living in this much drier climate (only 400mm of rain) than the highlands.

Ol Doinyo Lengai

As you approach the Lake, the looming majesty of Ol Doinyo Lengai dominates the skyline, with its classic volcano silhouette. This active volcano (2960m) last erupted in 2004. Intrepid hikes can do an overnight climb to the top. See Walks from Lake Natron for more information…

Flamingos at Lake Natron

Lake Natron is an immensely alkaline soda lake, the result of the same tectonic activity which created the rift valley. As you approach, the lake seems to be pink. But this mirage is caused by millions of flamingos as well as red pigments in the algae of the salt-encrusted lake. Lake Natron has not dried out only because it is fed by the immensely powerful Ewaso Ngiro river coming from the wet central highlands. The flamingos (some 2.5 million at their peak) come and go. But they are greatest in number from August to October when they breed. Other wildlife commonly seen are zebra and giraffe, as well as wildebeest, oryx, gazelles and even the occasional lion or cheetah (very rarely seen).

Engaresero Hominid Footprints

This is an important find of 58 footprints, discovered by a Maasai herder in 1998. These are possibly the oldest footprints of homo sapiens as opposed to earlier hominid fossils.

Walking in the Rift Valley Highlands

The final attraction is walking in the Rift Valley highlands. This can take many formats from day walks (see Lake Natron walking) to a multi-day trek down from the Ngorongoro highlands via Empakai crater down the escarpment to end at Lake Natron.

How to get to Lake Natron

Lake Natron can be visited from the south from Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro crater area (approx 4 hours drive each way). Or from July to October, it can be used as a stepping stone into the northern Serengeti National Park to where the migration is likely to be at that time. But please allow two night at Lake Natron otherwise you will be disappointed.

United Kingdom

South Africa

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